Offbeat, charming, and filled with humour and insight, Beyond Belfast is the story of one man’s misguided attempt at walking the Ulster Way, “the longest waymarked trail in the British Isles.” It’s a journey that takes Will Ferguson through the small towns and half-forgotten villages of Northern Ireland, along rugged coastlines and across barren moorland heights, past crumbling castles and patchwork farms.From IRA pubs to Protestant marches, from bandits and bad weather to banshees and blood sausage, he wades into the thick of things, providing an affectionate and heartfelt look at one of the most misunderstood corners of the world. As the grandson of a Belfast orphan, Will also peels back the myths and realities of his own family history—a mysterious photograph, rumours of a lost inheritance. The truth, when it comes, is both surprising and funny …
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“His thoughts are informed by a fair amount of reading, a keen sense of observation and a humane disposition… funny, intelligent, and well worth hearing… Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to walk the Ulster Way. Instead, buy this book, take off your shoes and socks, sit down by a warm fire, pour yourself a glass of whisky, and walk with Will Ferguson, step by vicarious step.” - The Globe and Mail
“Travel at times can be no laughing matter. So it’s always a good idea to pack a book that is like, say, Beyond Belfast…. Great scenery, oddball characters and much hilarity ensue.” - National Post
“A modern-day journey through Ireland with tongue firmly in cheek . . . Wildly funny.” - Ottawa Citizen
“A smart, engaging travel memoir about sore feet, Northern Ireland and coming to terms with who you are and from where you came.” - Winnipeg Free Press
“A thoughtful travelogue chronicling the author’s arduous journey across Northern Ireland in a bid to uncover his grandfather’s long-buried Northern Irish roots.” - Maclean's
“He tells his story intelligently and kindly.” - The Leacock Foundation’s Award Committee
“The humour is subtle and usually self-deprecating…. For anyone who has never been to Northern Ireland and is planning to go, Beyond Belfast is a great primer to understanding the people, places and problems.” - Vancouver Sun
“Like with most other Will Ferguson books, don’t forget a box of tissues to wipe your tears of laughter.” - Campbell River Mirror
“Beyond Belfast by Will Ferguson… is, in this reader’s opinion, the best book Will Ferguson has penned to date. I shouted “Wow!” I gasped and I giggled and at least a dozen times I laughed out loud. I couldn’t put it down. The story held me from page to page as if I was right there slogging through the Irish bogs with the author… Ferguson’s insights are superb.” - Indian Head-Wolseley News
“Hilariously rewarding…. A choose-your-own-adventure book where the ‘choices’ were perhaps the worst ones, but certainly the most adventurous.” - See Magazine
“A sharp and witty picture of the land and its people.” - Niagara Magazine
“Travel at times can be no laughing matter. So it’s always a good idea to pack a book that is like, say, Beyond Belfast…. Great scenery, oddball characters and much hilarity ensue.” - National Post
“A modern-day journey through Ireland with tongue firmly in cheek . . . Wildly funny.” - Ottawa Citizen
“A smart, engaging travel memoir about sore feet, Northern Ireland and coming to terms with who you are and from where you came.” - Winnipeg Free Press
“A thoughtful travelogue chronicling the author’s arduous journey across Northern Ireland in a bid to uncover his grandfather’s long-buried Northern Irish roots.” - Maclean's
“He tells his story intelligently and kindly.” - The Leacock Foundation’s Award Committee
“The humour is subtle and usually self-deprecating…. For anyone who has never been to Northern Ireland and is planning to go, Beyond Belfast is a great primer to understanding the people, places and problems.” - Vancouver Sun
“Like with most other Will Ferguson books, don’t forget a box of tissues to wipe your tears of laughter.” - Campbell River Mirror
“Beyond Belfast by Will Ferguson… is, in this reader’s opinion, the best book Will Ferguson has penned to date. I shouted “Wow!” I gasped and I giggled and at least a dozen times I laughed out loud. I couldn’t put it down. The story held me from page to page as if I was right there slogging through the Irish bogs with the author… Ferguson’s insights are superb.” - Indian Head-Wolseley News
“Hilariously rewarding…. A choose-your-own-adventure book where the ‘choices’ were perhaps the worst ones, but certainly the most adventurous.” - See Magazine
“A sharp and witty picture of the land and its people.” - Niagara Magazine
About the Author
Travel writer and novelist Will Ferguson is the author of several award-winning memoirs, including Beyond Belfast, about a 560-mile walk across Northern Ireland in the rain; Hitching Rides With Buddha, about an end-to-end journey across Japan by thumb; and most recently the humour collection Canadian Pie, which includes his travels from Yukon to PEI.
Ferguson's novels include Happiness™, a satire set in the world of self-help publishing, and Spanish Fly, a coming-of-age tale of con men and call girls set amid the jazz clubs of the Great Depression. His work, which has been published in more than twenty languages around the world, has been nominated for both an IMPAC Dublin Award and a Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and he is a three-time winner of the Leacock Medal.
www.willferguson.com
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By C. J. Thompson
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
About a quarter of the way into this book I began to compose a review that ended with the sentiment that I would be unlikely to read this again. My first impressions were not overly negative; I just didn't find much that excited my interest to any great degree. Mostly, I found myself comparing this author to Bill Bryson, one of my favorite travel yarn writers. This is, after all, the sort of book you can well imagine Bryson writing, except that whereas with Bryson I might get belly-laughs, here I just got the odd chuckle once in a while.
The comparison, of course, is not a very fair one and at about the half-way mark into the book I found that I had become gripped by the narrative in spite of my first impressions. Ferguson is quite skilled as a 'visual' writer, but his low-key delivery makes that fact easy to miss at first. What seems like a very light-hearted romp of a book actually covers some very serious stuff and the lightness is often counter-balanced by a real darkness in subject and tone. Particularly moving is the passage where the author attends the public inquest into the infamous bombing in Omagh.
All in all this is a good 'wee' book (as they might have it in Ulster). I will read it again sometime.
The comparison, of course, is not a very fair one and at about the half-way mark into the book I found that I had become gripped by the narrative in spite of my first impressions. Ferguson is quite skilled as a 'visual' writer, but his low-key delivery makes that fact easy to miss at first. What seems like a very light-hearted romp of a book actually covers some very serious stuff and the lightness is often counter-balanced by a real darkness in subject and tone. Particularly moving is the passage where the author attends the public inquest into the infamous bombing in Omagh.
All in all this is a good 'wee' book (as they might have it in Ulster). I will read it again sometime.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By P. Seaman
Format:Hardcover
I found this a lovely book, often dealing with sensitive issues with compassion and a light, deft touch. The story within the story unfurls as he very accrately describes the undulations of the vagaries of the Ulster Way. One might confuse the walkways of the Ulster Way as the way things are in Ulster! His descriptions of the land almost allow the land of each county to tell its own tale. The Northern Irish humour can be dark, and yet very, very funny and Will Ferguson has captured these aspects thoroughly. Some of his characters are so vividly drawn that they are very familiar in personality and behaviour, consequently very real. It is a book that will reveal more nuggets on reading again and again.....Thank you, Sir!
By Tony Maxwell
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had never heard of Will Ferguson until he won the Giller Prize! Imagine my surprise (and delight) to discover he actually attended the same school here in little old Red Deer as my son. Though a few years earlier I should add!
Planning to read his award winning novel, 419, I checked out his Amazon page and came across an earlier work, "Beyond Belfast." Being a fan of any walking tour that includes humourous asides, a la Paul Theroux and Bill Bryson, I ordered a copy.
I'm very glad that Will decided to walk the Ulster Way; by doing so he saved me from ever having to even think of doing it myself!
I can only echo another reviewer who suggested the reader should relax in front of a warm fire, nursing his or her favourite beverage, and let poor old Will do the walking! Not only will you save yourself from the frustration of dodgy directions, missing (or non-existent) signage, mud, bogs, hostile dogs and more rain than you can ever imagine; you will also learn more about the history and geography of Ulster. A benefit that places "Beyond Belfast" high on my list of favourite travel books.Beyond Belfast
Planning to read his award winning novel, 419, I checked out his Amazon page and came across an earlier work, "Beyond Belfast." Being a fan of any walking tour that includes humourous asides, a la Paul Theroux and Bill Bryson, I ordered a copy.
I'm very glad that Will decided to walk the Ulster Way; by doing so he saved me from ever having to even think of doing it myself!
I can only echo another reviewer who suggested the reader should relax in front of a warm fire, nursing his or her favourite beverage, and let poor old Will do the walking! Not only will you save yourself from the frustration of dodgy directions, missing (or non-existent) signage, mud, bogs, hostile dogs and more rain than you can ever imagine; you will also learn more about the history and geography of Ulster. A benefit that places "Beyond Belfast" high on my list of favourite travel books.Beyond Belfast
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